scholarly journals Physiological and biochemical responses of <i>Emiliania huxleyi</i> to ocean acidification and warming are modulated by UV radiation

Author(s):  
Shanying Tong ◽  
David A. Hutchins ◽  
Kunshan Gao

Abstract. Marine phytoplankton such as bloom-forming, calcite-producing coccolithophores, are naturally exposed to solar UV radiation (UVR, 280–400 nm) in the ocean's upper mixed layers. Nevertheless, effects of increasing CO2-induced ocean acidification and warming have rarely been investigated in the presence of UVR. We examined calcification and photosynthetic carbon fixation performance in the most cosmopolitan coccolithophorid, Emiliania huxleyi, grown under high (1000 μatm, HC; pHT: 7.70) and low (400 μatm, LC; pHT: 8.02) CO2 levels, at 15 °C (LT), 20 °C (MT) and 24 °C (HT) with or without UVR. The HC treatment didn't affect photosynthetic carbon fixation at 15 °C, but significantly enhanced it with increasing temperature. Exposure to UVR inhibited photosynthesis, with higher inhibition by UVA (320–395 nm) than UVB (295–320 nm), except in the HC and 24 °C-grown cells, in which UVB caused more inhibition than UVA. Reduced thickness of the coccolith layer in the HC-grown cells appeared to be responsible for the UV-induced inhibition, and an increased repair rate of UVA-derived damage in the HCHT-grown cells could be responsible for lowered UVA-induced inhibition. While calcification was reduced with the elevated CO2 concentration, exposure to UVB or UVA affected it differentially, with the former inhibiting and the latter enhancing it. UVA-induced stimulation of calcification was higher in the HC-grown cells at 15 and 20 °C, whereas at 24 °C, observed enhancement was not significant. The calcification to photosynthesis ratio (Cal / Pho ratio) was lower in the HC treatment, and increasing temperature also lowered the value. However, at 20 and 24 °C, exposures to UVR significantly increased the Cal / Pho ratio, especially in HC-grown cells, by up to 100 %. This implies that UVR can counteract the negative effects of the greenhouse treatment on the Cal / Pho ratio, and so may be a key stressor when considering the impacts of future greenhouse conditions on E. huxleyi.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 561-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanying Tong ◽  
David A. Hutchins ◽  
Kunshan Gao

Abstract. Marine phytoplankton such as bloom-forming, calcite-producing coccolithophores, are naturally exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 280–400 nm) in the ocean's upper mixed layers. Nevertheless, the effects of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2)-induced ocean acidification and warming have rarely been investigated in the presence of UVR. We examined calcification and photosynthetic carbon fixation performance in the most cosmopolitan coccolithophorid, Emiliania huxleyi, grown under high (1000 µatm, HC; pHT: 7.70) and low (400 µatm, LC; pHT: 8.02) CO2 levels, at 15 ∘C, 20 ∘C and 24 ∘C with or without UVR. The HC treatment did not affect photosynthetic carbon fixation at 15 ∘C, but significantly enhanced it with increasing temperature. Exposure to UVR inhibited photosynthesis, with higher inhibition by UVA (320–395 nm) than UVB (295–320 nm), except in the HC and 24 ∘C-grown cells, in which UVB caused more inhibition than UVA. A reduced thickness of the coccolith layer in the HC-grown cells appeared to be responsible for the UV-induced inhibition, and an increased repair rate of UVA-derived damage in the HC–high-temperature grown cells could be responsible for lowered UVA-induced inhibition. While calcification was reduced with elevated CO2 concentration, exposure to UVB or UVA affected the process differentially, with the former inhibiting it and the latter enhancing it. UVA-induced stimulation of calcification was higher in the HC-grown cells at 15 and 20 ∘C, whereas at 24 ∘C observed enhancement was not significant. The calcification to photosynthesis ratio (Cal ∕ Pho ratio) was lower in the HC treatment, and increasing temperature also lowered the value. However, at 20 and 24 ∘C, exposure to UVR significantly increased the Cal ∕ Pho ratio, especially in HC-grown cells, by up to 100 %. This implies that UVR can counteract the negative effects of the “greenhouse” treatment on the Cal ∕ Pho ratio; hence, UVR may be a key stressor when considering the impacts of future greenhouse conditions on E. huxleyi.


2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyan Wu ◽  
Kunshan Gao

Previous studies have shown that reduced levels of solar UV radiation (280–400 nm) can enhance photosynthetic carbon fixation of marine phytoplankton, but the mechanisms are not known. The supply of CO2 for photosynthesis is facilitated by extracellular (periplasmic) carbonic anhydrase (CAe) in most marine phytoplankton species. The present study showed that the CAe activity of Skeletonema costatum (Greville) Cleve was stimulated when treated with UV-A (320–395 nm) or UV-A + UV-B (295–320 nm) in addition to visible radiation. The presence of UV-A and UV-B enhanced the activity by 28% and 24%, respectively, at a low irradiance (PAR 161, UV-A 28, UV-B 0.9 W m−2) and by 21% and 19%, respectively, at a high irradiance (PAR 328, UV-A 58, UV-B 1.9 W m−2) level after exposure for 1 h. Ultraviolet radiation stimulated CAe activity contributed up to 6% of the photosynthetic carbon fixation as a result of the enhanced supply of CO2, as revealed using the CAe inhibitor (acetazolamide). As a result, there was less inhibition of photosynthetic carbon fixation compared with the apparent quantum yield of PSII. The UV radiation stimulated CAe activity coincided with the enhanced redox activity at the plasma membrane in the presence of UV-A and/or UV-B. The present study showed that UV radiation can enhance CAe activity, which plays an important role in counteracting UV inhibition of photosynthesis.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 7197-7226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Li ◽  
K. Gao ◽  
V. E. Villafañe ◽  
E. W. Helbling

Abstract. Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is responsible for progressive ocean acidification, ocean warming as well as decreased thickness of upper mixing layer (UML), thus exposing phytoplankton cells not only to lower pH and higher temperatures but also to higher levels of solar UV radiation. In order to evaluate the combined effects of ocean acidification, UV radiation and temperature, we used the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum as a model organism and examined its physiological performance after grown under two CO2 concentrations (390 and 1000 µatm) for more than 20 generations. Compared to the ambient CO2 level (390 µatm), growth at the elevated CO2 concentration increased non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of cells and partially counteracted the harm to PSII caused by UV-A and UV-B. Such an effect was less pronounced under increased temperature levels. As for photosynthetic carbon fixation, the rate increased with increasing temperature from 15 to 25 °C, regardless of their growth CO2 levels. In addition, UV-induced inhibition of photosynthesis was inversely correlated to temperature. The ratio of repair to UV-induced damage showed inverse relationship with increased NPQ, showing higher values under the ocean acidification condition against UV-B, reflecting that the increased pCO2 and lowered pH counteracted UV-B induced harm.


1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 505-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. Woo ◽  
D. T. Canvin

Ammonia stimulated photosynthetic 14CO2 fixation in isolated spinach cells under conditions of saturating light intensity and adequate CO2 supply. Increasing temperature increased photosynthesis and promoted the stimulation of photosynthesis by ammonia. Ammonia increased carbon traffic into organic acids and amino acids without affecting the total, 14C incorporation in the neutral fraction, although the relative distribution of 14C incorporation in the neutral fraction as a percentage of the total soluble 14C incorporation was decreased. The increased carbon flow into the amino acid fraction led to an increase of, 14C incorporation, principally into glutamine, glutamate, and aspartate. The role of ammonia in photosynthetic carbon metabolism is discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 3931-3942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Li ◽  
K. Gao ◽  
V. E. Villafañe ◽  
E. W. Helbling

Abstract. Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is responsible for progressive ocean acidification, ocean warming as well as decreased thickness of upper mixing layer (UML), thus exposing phytoplankton cells not only to lower pH and higher temperatures but also to higher levels of solar UV radiation. In order to evaluate the combined effects of ocean acidification, UV radiation and temperature, we used the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum as a model organism and examined its physiological performance after grown under two CO2 concentrations (390 and 1000 μatm) for more than 20 generations. Compared to the ambient CO2 level (390 μatm), growth at the elevated CO2 concentration increased non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of cells and partially counteracted the harm to PS II (photosystem II) caused by UV-A and UV-B. Such an effect was less pronounced under increased temperature levels. The ratio of repair to UV-B induced damage decreased with increased NPQ, reflecting induction of NPQ when repair dropped behind the damage, and it was higher under the ocean acidification condition, showing that the increased pCO2 and lowered pH counteracted UV-B induced harm. As for photosynthetic carbon fixation rate which increased with increasing temperature from 15 to 25 °C, the elevated CO2 and temperature levels synergistically interacted to reduce the inhibition caused by UV-B and thus increase the carbon fixation.


Author(s):  
Gunnel Karlsson ◽  
Jan-Olov Bovin ◽  
Michael Bosma

RuBisCO (D-ribulose-l,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) is the most aboundant enzyme in the plant cell and it catalyses the key carboxylation reaction of photosynthetic carbon fixation, but also the competing oxygenase reaction of photorespiation. In vitro crystallized RuBisCO has been studied earlier but this investigation concerns in vivo existance of RuBisCO crystals in anthers and leaves ofsugarbeets. For the identification of in vivo protein crystals it is important to be able to determinethe unit cell of cytochemically identified crystals in the same image. In order to obtain the best combination of optimal contrast and resolution we have studied different staining and electron accelerating voltages. It is known that embedding and sectioning can cause deformation and obscure the unit cell parameters.


Taxon ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grady L. Webster ◽  
Walter V. Brown ◽  
Bruce N. Smith

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